Mental health of Turkish women in Germany: resilience and risk factors.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to examine the protective and risk factors of mental distress among Turkish women living in Germany. METHOD: 105 Turkish immigrant women living in Berlin were investigated with measures of extraversion/neuroticism (NEO-FFI), general self-efficacy (GSE), social support (BSSS), social strain (F-SOZU) and mental distress (GHQ-28). Interrelations between psychosocial variables were assessed using simple Pearson correlations. RESULTS: In all subjects, social strain (Pearson's r=.26(**), p=.008) and neuroticism (r=.34(**), p<.001) were positively associated with mental distress. In contrast, perceived self-efficacy (r=-.38(**), p<.001) and extraversion (r=-.36(**), p<.001) were negatively associated with mental distress. CONCLUSION: Protective factors such as extraversion and self-efficacy seem to have a buffering effect on the process of migration. However, in addition to neuroticism, social strain seems to be positively associated with mental distress.

Isotopic study of post-anthesis foliar incorporation of sulphur and nitrogen in wheat.

Nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S) supplies have a strong influence on the quality and quantity of wheat storage proteins, which play an important role in the bread-making process. In order to relate the incorporation and distribution of foliar N and S fertilisers at the post-anthesis stage to the quality of wheat, 15N and 34S isotopes were used as tracers. The incorporation of these tracers in different plant parts (leaves, stems, ears) and in each storage protein fraction (gliadins, HMW and LMW glutenin subunits) was determined by isotopic ratio mass spectrometry coupled with an elemental analyser (EA-IRMS). By this means, the true recovery coefficient of N and S (TRCNfertiliser and TRCSfertiliser) and the N and S derived from fertilisers (Ndff and Sdff) could be determined. The TRCNfertiliser and TRCSfertiliser values of the different plant parts provide evidence of the applied N and S assimilation and translocation from wheat leaves to the seeds. The determination of Ndff and Sdff incorporated into storage proteins shows the efficiency and the influence of N and S incorporation into each storage protein fraction. Moreover, a favourable stage for fertiliser application can be determined by the TRCNfertiliser values in the grain and in the whole plant. The fertilisers enriched in stable isotope used in the culture techniques can be a means of understanding the effectiveness of fertilisers in the expression of wheat quality.

Differences in sexual risk behaviour between young men and women travelling abroad from the UK.

BACKGROUND: Identification of people who most frequently engage in sexual risk behaviour while travelling abroad would be useful for the design and targeting of health education and promotion campaigns. METHODS: Eligible participants were people living in the UK aged 18-34 years who had travelled abroad without a partner in the previous 2 years. Respondents were first screened for eligibility as part of representative face-to-face and telephone surveys by a market research company. Eligible individuals who agreed to take part then underwent a computer-assisted telephone interview. Reinterviewing continued until 400 eligible people had been contacted. We also interviewed a control group of 568 young people who had travelled abroad without a partner in the previous 2 years but who did not report a new sexual relationship during their travels. FINDINGS: One in ten of the eligible participants reported sexual intercourse with a new partner. Travellers who reported a new sexual relationship abroad were also likely to report large numbers of sexual partners at home. Of the 400 people who had a new sexual partner abroad, 300 (75%) used condoms on all occasions with the new partner. Logistic regression modelling showed differences between men and women in those factors linked to the practice of unsafe or safer sex while travelling. For men, patterns of condom use abroad with casual partners (p<.0001) reflected patterns of use at home (p<0.001), whereas for women, patterns of condom use varied according to their partners' backgrounds (p<.0001). INTERPRETATION: Condoms are widely used among young travellers, but patterns of use vary by sex. Campaigns about sexual health targeted at international travellers should continue, not least because young people who meet new sexual partners abroad may be a convenient proxy group for that minority of the population who report most sexual partners at home. Such campaigns should be designed differently for men and women.

Are preventive HIV interventions at airports effective?

BACKGROUND: Few empirical data exist on the impact of preventive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) interventions on intended and actual sexual behavior of international tourists. The present cross-sectional study is based on a 2 3 2 design. METHODS: The sample consisted of departing and arriving passengers (n = 3100) at Zurich Airport with destinations in countries where heterosexual HIV transmission is dominant. While 41% of the tourists obtained information about safer sex, the remaining 59% without such intervention served as control group. Departing passengers completed a short questionnaire focusing on their planned sexual behavior. Arriving passengers were asked about their actual behavior during the journey. Subjects of the intervention group also evaluated the impact of the consultation. RESULTS: Most travelers appreciated the intervention and reported that they received important information. Members of the intervention group were better informed than those of the control group about the risk of heterosexually transmitted HIV infection (p <.01). They also indicated more often that they could imagine having casual sex abroad (23% vs 16%, p <.01). However, the two groups did not differ with regard to planned condom use or actual sexual behavior. Whereas most of departing passengers indicated that they would use condoms consistently, only half of the passengers who reported casual sex actually did so. Subjects who refused to participate in the intervention tended to consider it as irrelevant and reported less consistent condom use. CONCLUSIONS: Although travel health interventions focusing on casual sex are appreciated and increase the knowledge, they failed to result in significant behavior modification. Future projects should attempt to approach possible risk groups more specifically and to have more impact.

Youths' outlook on the future: A past-present comparison.

Gillespie and Allport's descriptive data (1955) on attitudes and values of youth 20 years ago afforded a comparison with a presentday sample of 320 undergraduates at The Univeristy of Texas at Austin. Items for the original questionnaire (Youth's Outlook on the Future) were combined with other measures (Locus of Control, Dogmatism, and Conservatism scales) for the purpose of replicating the original study and expanding the scope of the comparison. A breakdown of the present group into activists and nonactivists yielded significant differences within the present sample as well as between samples. In general, the trend appeared to be toward less conservatism and traditionalism in moving from past to present nonactivist to present activist. Within the present sample, activists were also more oriented toward the present while nonactivists were more oriented toward success and prestige in the future.